As Xu Feng began the synthesis process, he meticulously arranged the ingredients on the alchemical workstation, courtesy of Herbalist Elias.
Taking a deep breath and fixing his glasses, he muttered, "It's do or die now."
With a determined expression, he first selected the Sunfire Lotus herb, its vibrant petals radiating warmth and vitality. This herb would serve as the main component of the potion, imbuing it with the essential attribute of fire resistance.
Next, Xu Feng reached for the Emberleaf, a delicate herb with fiery hues.
Adding the Emberleaf to the mixture, he observed as its essence mingled with that of the Sunfire Lotus, enhancing the potion's potency ever so slightly. The more potent a potion was, the stronger the effect would be.
With the Sunfire Lotus and Emberleaf seamlessly integrated, Xu Feng turned his attention to the Cinderbloom. This herb, with its robust aroma and sturdy leaves, was intended for its ability to prolong the effects of potions.
By incorporating the Cinderbloom into the concoction, Xu Feng ensured that the fire resistance granted by the potion would endure for an extended period, sparing players the need for frequent reapplications.
Lastly, Xu Feng added the Flamegrass, its verdant blades contrasting with the fiery hues of the other ingredients. It was primarily included for its mild cooling properties to counteract heat exposure.
With each ingredient carefully measured and added to the mixture, Xu Feng observed as the potion began to take shape before his eyes. Now all he could do was to wait for the system to finish the process with a success or failure.
"Please be a success…" Xu Feng stared intensely at the potion, his eyes seemingly threatening it to form properly. Otherwise, there will be blood to pay.
And whether it was by luck or threat, the potion successfully formed after five seconds.
System: Congratulations to Adventurer Lin Feng for being the first player to synthesize a potion: Fire Resistance Potion. Do you wish to announce your achievement in the local region?
Amused, Xu Feng wondered if the system was enraged by his antics and wanted to throw him into the center of attention. After all, by successfully synthesizing the Fire Resistance Potion, he was able to gain 10 experience points, bypassing the punishment imposed by the system earlier.
The debuff only applied to monsters in the wild, but Xu Feng never planned on earning experience points like most average players.
Who said only wild monsters give experience points?
"I bet you are mad, but too bad, so sad. There's nothing you can do when I've been a lawful civilian." Xu Feng teased, choosing the "NO" option without hesitation.
He had tried his best to stay anonymous all along, so why would he choose to expose himself?
Wouldn't that have defeated the whole purpose of being anonymous?
Unfortunately, the system seemed quite adamant and even decided to add a confirmation prompt, clearly hoping he would change his mind.
Of course, it was a joke, and Xu Feng understood that the confirmation prompt was merely a safety measure for players who might inadvertently make the wrong decision.
Some individuals could be rather clumsy or oblivious, managing to mess things up despite the presence of confirmation prompts.
It was almost as if they were drawn to the "yes" button like bees to honey, unable to resist pressing it as if they were competing in an Olympic sprint.
System: Are you sure you won't wish to announce your achievement, Adventurer Lin Feng?
Glancing at the confirmation prompt, Xu Feng pressed the "YES" button and confirmed that he did not want to publicize his achievement.
Could achievement bring him money?
No, those achievements would bring him unnecessary attention and trouble from jealous people. With his current state, it was still not the correct time to come out in the open and become the center of attention.
"If only I was born with a diamond spoon, then I wouldn't need to worry about publicizing my achievement. Life is really unfair." Xu Feng sighed softly.
To clear out his mindset, he decided to proceed with synthesizing even more potions.
By the time he successfully synthesized 15 potions, Xu Feng had risen up to level 2, but he was not happy. After all, in contrast to the 15 successful syntheses, he had failed a whopping 42 times in return.
"Damn it, this 50% is a lie as always. What 50%? It's more like 35%." He cursed in anger.
Just when Xu Feng was about to rage further, he suddenly paused himself and wondered what had happened to him.
'Wait a minute, why am I losing my temper so easily?' He questioned himself.
Usually, his emotions would be calm and collected, having barely fluctuated much to prevent others from reading him. Yet here he was, flying into a rage just because of a 35% success rate.
Although it was a far cry from the 50%, it still doesn't justify the fact that he was losing his cool from a difference of 15%.
Fixing his glasses, Xu Feng temporarily paused the synthesizing process and relaxed a bit.
Glancing at the ceiling for a while, he soon figured out why he was overacting. It was because of the fact that he had an advantage no one had, so now he was feeling pressured to always stay on top.
By stumbling on something repeatedly, his conscience was screeching him to hasten the pace, lest others would catch up to him and his advantage would soon be gone.
"How depressing is it? I actually made such an amateur mistake." Xu Feng chuckled bitterly.
Without realizing it, he managed to ruin his mentality and nearly made a fatal mistake. After all, if he failed to realize this sooner, then it would have been disastrous in the far future.
Having this kind of mindset was no different than having a ticking bomb in his brain, ready to explode at any moment. And when that happened, it would be extremely difficult for him to bounce back.
He had already experienced a different type of bomb in the past when he was ruthlessly discarded by the Reaver Guild. There was no way he would allow himself to be placed in such a situation again.
"It's merely some minor setback. It's not a big deal. What kind of storm have I not faced?" He snorted, having completely restructured his mindset.